Whom Shall We Love?

your wife, your husband, your brother, your sister, your mother, your father, your best friend, the guy or girl you have really enjoyed getting to know who works in the next cubicle, the guy who works in the other cubicle who talks to loud, the person who gives you a gift, the person who takes one away, the gas station attendant, the bad waitress, the rude cashier, the redneck who checks you out as you walk down the street, the girl you fantasize about, your ex who broke up with you, your ex you broke up with, your ex's boyfriend or girlfriend, the friend who hurt you, the friend who hurt you so bad you couldn't recover, the person who stole from you, the person who is giving you unwanted advice, the person who gossips about you, the rich and arrogant, the poor and clingy, the person who's name you never remember, the person who you are more talented than, the person who hurts the name of Christianity, the homosexual, the one who says, "God hates fags." the one who hinders your cutting edge ministry, your next door neighbor who talks to much, the neighbor on the other side who doesn't wave back, the teacher who is unfair, the dork you just got done making fun of, the person you always joke because you are actually jealous of, the guy who got your job, the woman who is skinnier and prettier, the woman who is fatter and uglier, the lazy person who never gets a job but always asks for money, the spoiled kid who treats you like a pee-on, the fire and brimstone preacher, the weak preacher who never has a point, the minister with an ego the size of Montana, the person who beat you, who abused you, who verbally destroyed you, The person who always talks about himself, the person who never lets you get to know them, the one who goes up every Sunday with a prayer need, the one who cries at every opportunity, the one who is so thick they are never moved, The boss who just fired you, the last person you remember cussing you out, the last person you remember cussing out, whoever interrupts you today, the cynical, the overly happy, the loud youth group kid who always wears Christian T-shirts and has no idea about the "real world", the Goth kid who sits in the corner desperate for attention, the kid who touches you too much, the one who never lets you touch them, the last person who embarrassed you publicly, the last person who bad-mouthed one of your family members, the murderer on TV, the celebrity on TV, the democrat, the republican, the conservative, the liberal, the Church of Christ, the Baptist, the Church of God, the Presbyterian, the Methodist, the Non-denominational, the person who opposes every point of your doctrine, The man who said "God is dead," The man who said, "I am God," and killed his followers, the kid on your hall that always says awkward things, The person who always laughs too hard at himself, The person who sucks the very energy out of you when they are around, feminists, chauvinists, Blacks, Whites, Chinese, Mexicans, Canadians, Arabs, Taliban members, Terrorists, the guy who broke into your house, the person who is suing you, the cop who pulled you over, the person who tailgated you, the hippie, the yuppie, the mountain man, the artsy fartsy, the thug, the cowboy, the disrespectful teenager, the suck-up, The know-it-all, the person who causes problems every Sunday and you don't talk to because you are afraid of trouble, the person who makes a B-line towards you that you try to avoid, the fake acting Christian who seems to always make a show of their spirituality, the person who runs too much on emotion, the person who runs too much on intellect, the overly organized and anal, the sloppy, The person you have asked nicely for such and such a million times, the guy who you feel considers you a "less than," the person who hurt one of your friends, The one who breaks all the rules, the one you have walked past a million times but never got to know, the one who would hurt your popularity to talk to, who would put you outside your comfort zone to strike up a conversation with, the person who hates you, who embarrasses you, who slanders your name, who has made false accusations about you, who confines you, who knows less than you, who knows more than you, the person who acts just like you and it allows you to see right through them, the person who is nothing like you and you can't understand, dorky Christians, nominal Christians, outsiders of the faith who are kind to you, outsiders of the faith who look down on you, Humans.

To love is to be for someone. I was talking to my friend, Bill, about this the other day, and we both came to the conclusion that God's command to love was much more than us being able to say, "Yeah...I love that person." Love is an action that we carry out for others. We push them towards their success, (unless that success is against God's nature. However, success may be the abundant life that Christ promised), towards a fulfilled life. We do something that makes them genuinely smile. Love is something we mean from the depths of our hearts. There are those on that list that I have "loved," that is if love is defined by "not hating." However, there are people on that list that I have not benefited in anyway, and I have even kept them from a more fulfilled life. If I am to love these people, I will actively pursue them; because Jesus is deep inside of me wanting to walk up to them and say, "You have worth." I know Jesus lives in me, but sometimes I picture Him clawing to get out, in order to express love to the person I just ignored. Whom shall I love? Anyone with a soul destined for eternity.

Hey...off the topic...

I just received a copy of a show I played at New City cafe. You can hear my newer music here: http://myspace.com/taylorandcompany

or you can click on the link below. Thanks.